Disclaimer: This blog are the personal views of the writer and is not an official publication of the United States Peace Corps.
Who am I
I am TM Dodson and I am currently a trainee in the United States Peace Corps TEFL program serving in Romania. I began my serves on May 27th 2009 at my staging event in Washington DC. I am a native of HI, but have lived outside Phoenix AZ for the last 11 years. I have a BA in history from ASU with a minor is anthropology. I graduated college in Dec 2008 with a 3.4 GPA. I am 25 and this is my first time away from my home and family.
Getting a late start.
I should have done this from the beginning but due to the length and uncertainty of the Peace Corps application program and the time spent preparing for the trip to Romania, I have only started this now with the help of my sister and mother and best friend back in the States.
The BeginningIt started with my mother answering a complaint from my 17-year-old self about wanting to leave the country with a comment about joining the Peace Corps. This turned into a goal that got me through some hard times. Then in December of 2007 I started the general application. This is a large document that requires two, 200 word essays, transcripts from all colleges attended and high schools, three letters of recommendation, from people other then your family, and then work, volunteer, and professional experience, language proficiencies and financial information as well as a résumé and some minor medical information. It took me until the end of May to complete this due to the inability to find the best way to answer the essay questions on describing a multicultural experience and why I wanted to join the Peace Corps. At this point I was worried that do to my lack of volunteer experience I would not get in. However not long after I submitted the first application I was told that I had passed the first part. After this I was sent a fingerprint kit where I had to pay to have two sets of fingerprints taken to make sure I was who I said I was and that I had no military or illegal connections. Once this was done I went to set up and interview with my local recruiter. This took some time since first I had to fix one of my letters of recommendation from my sister to an old friend, and then my recruiter changed because of a promotion. At last I had my interview over the phone because the new recruiter was living in LA. My interview lasted about an hour. I was asked questions about why I wanted to join the Peace Corps, if I did drugs or drank alcohol, was my religion was, if I was a vegetarian, what type of climate I would prefer to live in, what type of leadership experience I had had and other questions along those lines. I passed this part of the selection process and was nominated for the TEFL or Teaching English as a Foreign Language program and was expected to leave with the group leaving in mid to late May of the next year. I then had to go through a rigorous medical examination. This included full dental x-rays and other dental information, a full physical exam with the addition of an adult polio vaccination, a TB test, a tetanus shot and the recording of my Hepatitis B vaccinations and MMR, as well as a confirmation that I was no longer suffering from a minor case of social anxiety and depression. I also had to have a blood test for HIV and other blood diseases. Once this paper work was all complete which took about a month with the addition of having my eyes checked I sent in the paper work. I then had to deal with the problem of a minor amount of protein in my urine that would eventually lead to my doctor writing that my test was clear and that there was nothing abnormal in the test. This lead to months of waiting until sometime in November after talking to my recruiter at a school event I was contacted by my placement officer about having to do 30 hours of tutoring. I accomplished this in 2 weeks while I was finishing my last semester in college. I then sent in the final copy of my college transcript and confirmed that I had completed my 30 hours. Then at last on January 2nd I received my assignment. I was cleared to join the TEFL program leaving for Romania at the end of May. This was followed by months of waiting and preparing and trying to learn some of the language. I left for my staging event in Washington DC on the 26th of May 2009.
Who am I
I am TM Dodson and I am currently a trainee in the United States Peace Corps TEFL program serving in Romania. I began my serves on May 27th 2009 at my staging event in Washington DC. I am a native of HI, but have lived outside Phoenix AZ for the last 11 years. I have a BA in history from ASU with a minor is anthropology. I graduated college in Dec 2008 with a 3.4 GPA. I am 25 and this is my first time away from my home and family.
Getting a late start.
I should have done this from the beginning but due to the length and uncertainty of the Peace Corps application program and the time spent preparing for the trip to Romania, I have only started this now with the help of my sister and mother and best friend back in the States.
The BeginningIt started with my mother answering a complaint from my 17-year-old self about wanting to leave the country with a comment about joining the Peace Corps. This turned into a goal that got me through some hard times. Then in December of 2007 I started the general application. This is a large document that requires two, 200 word essays, transcripts from all colleges attended and high schools, three letters of recommendation, from people other then your family, and then work, volunteer, and professional experience, language proficiencies and financial information as well as a résumé and some minor medical information. It took me until the end of May to complete this due to the inability to find the best way to answer the essay questions on describing a multicultural experience and why I wanted to join the Peace Corps. At this point I was worried that do to my lack of volunteer experience I would not get in. However not long after I submitted the first application I was told that I had passed the first part. After this I was sent a fingerprint kit where I had to pay to have two sets of fingerprints taken to make sure I was who I said I was and that I had no military or illegal connections. Once this was done I went to set up and interview with my local recruiter. This took some time since first I had to fix one of my letters of recommendation from my sister to an old friend, and then my recruiter changed because of a promotion. At last I had my interview over the phone because the new recruiter was living in LA. My interview lasted about an hour. I was asked questions about why I wanted to join the Peace Corps, if I did drugs or drank alcohol, was my religion was, if I was a vegetarian, what type of climate I would prefer to live in, what type of leadership experience I had had and other questions along those lines. I passed this part of the selection process and was nominated for the TEFL or Teaching English as a Foreign Language program and was expected to leave with the group leaving in mid to late May of the next year. I then had to go through a rigorous medical examination. This included full dental x-rays and other dental information, a full physical exam with the addition of an adult polio vaccination, a TB test, a tetanus shot and the recording of my Hepatitis B vaccinations and MMR, as well as a confirmation that I was no longer suffering from a minor case of social anxiety and depression. I also had to have a blood test for HIV and other blood diseases. Once this paper work was all complete which took about a month with the addition of having my eyes checked I sent in the paper work. I then had to deal with the problem of a minor amount of protein in my urine that would eventually lead to my doctor writing that my test was clear and that there was nothing abnormal in the test. This lead to months of waiting until sometime in November after talking to my recruiter at a school event I was contacted by my placement officer about having to do 30 hours of tutoring. I accomplished this in 2 weeks while I was finishing my last semester in college. I then sent in the final copy of my college transcript and confirmed that I had completed my 30 hours. Then at last on January 2nd I received my assignment. I was cleared to join the TEFL program leaving for Romania at the end of May. This was followed by months of waiting and preparing and trying to learn some of the language. I left for my staging event in Washington DC on the 26th of May 2009.
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